Launceston City have been extraordinarily knocked out of the 2019 Lakoseljac Cup as two goals from University striker Samuel Fahey proved to be too much for the Northern outfit and it means they will play no part in the next stage of the statewide knockout competition.
Before the game has even started City were dealing with problems. Alex Turner, who has been a revelation for them at centre back this season, was out after picking up an injury against Clarence. However, the returning Patrick Sullivan is more than an ample replacement at the heart of defence.
Their troubles continued to mount once the game had started. Five minutes into the match, Matthew Oh was forced off the field after colliding with his own goalkeeper. Clark came out to claim the ball but instead crashed into his teammate. Oh was taken away in an ambulance with a suspected concussion, with Goold coming on to take his place.
Things went from bad to worse in the 20th minute when University took the lead through a goal from Samuel Fahey. A free-kick was swung in from the left and Fahey met it with a header, guiding the ball into the top left corner to give his side their first lead of the game.
After a dismal display in the first half, in which there was too much sloppiness and a significant lack of urgency from the home side, City came out in the second half looking to press hard. Within 10 minutes they had got an equaliser through midfielder, Charlie Dyer. The City youngster controlled a cross from Smith, took it past his opponent, and beautifully finessed it into the far corner, leaving Matthew Griffiths with no hope of saving it.
The scores were locked until the 78th minute when substitute Matthew Ling centred the ball to Samuel Fahey who showed off his own finessing skills and curled it past Clark to send his side up for the second time in the match. From this point, University understandably looked to sit on their lead, even leaving five players back on an attacking corner to null any chance of a City counter-attack.
It was a day where not a lot seemed to go right for City. Losing Oh early on, accompanied with Millington playing with a knock for most of the match, only added to their slow first half which ultimately cost them the match.
However, University played superbly given they were playing a side that is a level above them. Fahey was superb and a whole-team performance guided the visitors to victory.